Lots of prior social gerontological research has focused on filial rela-tions in informal care as well as the impact of widowhood on social relation-ships in later life. In this paper we instead ask how a new intimate relation-ship in later life effect relationships with children, relatives and friends. In particular we focus on the effects that a new intimate partner in later life has on filial, social and care obligations. To answer these questions, qualitative interviews were conducted with a strategical sample of 28 Swedes, 63–91 years, who had established a new intimate relationship after the age of 60 (or who are dating). We found that the respondents describe changes over their life-time in what we conceptualize as the ‘relationship chain’ – a hierarchy in social and care responsibilities – where the new partner in established relations steps in at the very front of the chain. This is positively perceived by the informants, who recurrently describe their partners as a resource for their own autonomy as well as that of their children, relatives and friends.